SFotD: ‘Seagulls’ Makes Drone Warfare Sexually Creepy

Why Watch? This short film from Mato Atom is disturbing not simply because of the future it depicts, but because of the unsettling imagery used to paint it. Toss in a sexually predatory version of “Little Red Riding Hood” (let’s just pretend the original isn’t sexually predatory) and you’re off to the creepy robot races.

Narrated in missives from a drone, our flying eye in the sky proves to be stalking a young girl, watching her grow into a young woman and then confronting her on the beach.

There are elements that are a little too abstract to work (even if the red balloon reference is a smart one), but overall, it’s an affectingly bizarre spin on a classic story that feels a lot like HAL trying to fuck our baby sister. A solid metaphor for the dangerous side of drones? Probably.

Thanks to FSR friend Hector Pahault for sending this one in. Go look at his work too.

What will it cost? Around 3 minutes.

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Scott Beggs: Movie stuff at VanityFair, Thrillist, IndieWire, Film School Rejects, and The Broken Projector Podcast@brokenprojector | Writing short stories at Adventitious.